Liverpool agree £26m Leoni deal as Slot stays silent on Guehi

Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledges fans after the team's defeat in the FA Community Shield match against Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium (Illustrative image) (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) Getty Images

Liverpool have agreed a £26 million deal plus add-ons with Parma to sign 18-year-old centre-back Giovanni Leoni. The Italian defender has been given permission to travel to Merseyside for a medical after the agreement was reached on Wednesday evening.

Manager Arne Slot confirmed the signing at his press conference but refused to discuss the club's pursuit of Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi. The teenager beat off competition from several Premier League sides and elite Italian clubs to secure his move to Anfield.

Defensive rebuild accelerates

The signing represents the latest move in Liverpool's major defensive overhaul following the sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen for up to £35 million. Slot was left with only Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez as senior centre-back options.

Van Dijk missed Liverpool's recent friendlies through illness while Gomez has been sidelined with an Achilles issue for most of pre-season. Daily Star reports that Liverpool's summer spending could exceed £300 million with multiple high-profile targets being pursued.

Manager stays tight-lipped

Slot gave little away when pressed about Liverpool's transfer activity ahead of Saturday's Premier League opener against Bournemouth. "(I can tell you) that the clubs have agreed a deal but he hasn't signed for us yet," Slot said of Leoni. "The moment when he signs for us, I can go into more detail."

On Guehi, the Dutch manager was equally reserved. "And the other one (Guehi) is of course the answer you always get from me," Slot said. "No, (I cannot go into more detail) because he is not our player and unfortunately he was the captain of the team where we lost against last Sunday. No, if you want to have any talks about him, you should go to Palace, to (Oliver) Glasner and ask him his opinion about him."

Squad concerns mount

Liverpool opened talks with Crystal Palace regarding England defender Guehi earlier this week. Daily Star reports the defender is in his final contract year and could leave Palace as a free agent next summer if no agreement is reached.

Slot confirmed that Joe Gomez could return to the matchday squad against Bournemouth after returning to training this week. "Joe, I have to make a decision on that," he said. "I think he only trained twice now, missed quite a lot in pre-season. But if you look at our bench against Palace, I think there were three players who were 20 years or younger. There is a possibility that Joe is on the bench but I have to look at the answers and who we're going to take."

Daily Star reports that Konate's contract situation adds further urgency, with Real Madrid reportedly showing interest as his deal expires next summer.

Sources used: "Liverpool Echo", "Daily Star" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.